Archive

“I am afraid that our children are going to sue us for stealing their childhoods!” A parent

“I would spend 6 hours a night doing my homework.” A student

“In America if you don’t earn a lot of money, something went wrong.” A student

“How do you expect us to do well when you can’t even make mistakes?” A student

“There have been 6 suicides in our school district.” A student

“Our students are pressured to perform; they’re not necessarily pressured to learn deeply and conceptually.” A teacher

“Things that actually get our students to think are pushed aside.” A teacher

“These kids come to the table with this creativity and love of learning; let’s not just take it out of them!” A teacher

“The United States needs to rethink how we do our schooling; the economic future of our country depends on our addressing this.” A Teacher

“We need to redefine success for our kids; it’s got to be something we do together; all of us as a society; it needs to be a movement.” A teacher

“Jobs need you to be a critical thinker; they need you to be a problem solver.” A teacher

“We need to think; what does it take to be a happy motivated creative human being.”

All of the above statements are burnished in the “Race to Nowhere”, a documentary film. Today’s educational system and parents expect students to have good grades which they achieve by memorizing facts and passing standardized tests. They are not expected to become problem solvers or to be creative thinkers. Children come to our schools filled with excitement and wonder ready to take on the challenges of their world. By the time they reach the 4th grade our educational practices have beaten spontaneity, excitement, and creativity out of them. They are not expected to interact with each other or their teachers. They are expected to sit still, memorize, and pass tests. We are putting them to sleep.

Doesn't she look excited about her education?

In order to get into the “best” schools they also have the additional expectations of having to participate in sports, music, community service, the arts, and any other activity they can place on a college application that makes them stand out. Our children are so over-scheduled and tired. They find themselves always looking at the future and not enjoying their present childhood. They worry about high school when they are in middle school; they worry about college when they are in high school. They are pressured from the colleges, the parents, the government, and the schools to excel in their grades. But who speaks and is an advocate for their exploration of themselves, for their exploration of the world in which they live, and for the development of their interests? Why do we think in this 21st century, 2011, that memorization and “A” grades on tests are what really counts.

We now have a generation of college educated young people who cannot find jobs. They are filtering back into graduate schools thinking things will get better if they have an advanced degree. It won’t. Public education worked in the world of the 20th century where all you had to do was what you were told. You would advance up the corporate ladder, get a promotion, make a decent living, have a retirement pension, and spend what remained of your life playing golf or some other such thing.

2011 is a different time and place. Technology, computers, and the internet RULE. The memorization game has changed and no longer has relevance. It is the STRATEGIC THINKER and the LATERAL THINKER who is on the rise with talents that were unknown until this new age arrived. The student who can think of 100 ways to use a paper clip is the one who will survive. Those whose energy, excitement, and creativity have been beaten out of them by our boring and mundane educational system, will be relics living in an age for which their skills are not applicable. When success is defined by high grades, trophies, and test scores we end up with unprepared, disengaged, exhausted, and unhealthy kids. We need to redefine success for our children.

Unprepared, Disengaged, Exhausted...

Listen to the valedictorian speech of graduating senior Erica, which was given in August, 2010. Observe her teachers who are sitting behind her. They are squirming in their seats because they are very uncomfortable with her analysis of her education in the American Public School System. This is how many of our children feel about their school experience. It isn’t working for them in school and certainly not working for them when they get out. There are no jobs left for high school graduates. They will not be able to make a living. To make matters worse, jobs for college grads are also getting scarce.

The Industrial Age is over; HELLO DETROIT. The Technological Age arrived while teachers were writing numbers on their chalkboards. Our students are connected in their world. The American Public Educational System is not.